Activists turn to noise demonstrations at local hotels to get ‘ICE out of Minnesota’

Protesters banged pots and pans, blew noisemakers, shouted through speakers and leaned on car horns outside Homewood Suites by Hilton in Edina for three hours on Thursday night.

About 150 people gathered as part of an effort to disrupt the peace of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents staying at the hotel.

The federal agents are in the Twin Cities as part of Operation Metro Surge, an immigration crackdown that began on Dec. 1, following President Donald Trump’s attacks on Somalis and threats to roll back temporary protected status for a few hundred Somali Minnesotans.

The crackdown has led to raids and arrests across the Twin Cities, from Somali neighborhoods and malls, to Latino businesses, to individuals targeted on the street and in their homes. The Department of Homeland Security has announced 19 arrests, but the true scope is unclear. 

The enforcement push has also triggered pushback from activists, who have organized neighborhood watch groups, swarmed arrest scenes and chased federal agents in their cars.  

Thursday’s “ICE Out of Minnesota” noise demonstration is part of that pushback, said Megan Newcomb, an organizer with Sunrise Movement Twin Cities. She said it’s the third such demonstration held at local hotels where ICE agents are staying. 

Ahead of the latest immigration crackdown, the group strategized ways to disrupt the ability of ICE to operate locally, she said.

“We decided to focus on businesses because collaborating with ICE is one of the things these hotels in particular are doing. They’re making money from ICE,” she said. 

Sunrise Movement has also targeted Signature Aviation, which flies deportation flights out of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. 

Newcomb said Sunrise Movement coordinates with other activist groups, including the Party for Socialism and Liberation Twin Cities, UNIDOS MN and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC).

“We’re learning from other movements that have the experience and knowledge that we don’t have. So we aren’t starting from scratch,” she said. 

As the noise ramped up outside Homewood Suites on Thursday, hotel guests peeked out windows. Two ICE agents came out to try to disperse the crowd before retreating back inside. 

Norman Orvando put up a homemade sign on the lobby windows saying, “ICE, today you handcuffed a 13-year-old.” The incident happened earlier that day in Eden Prairie.

“My nephew was tackled and cuffed by ICE,” he said. “He saw the cars behind him and took off sprinting because he was scared. They chased him down, tackled him, and cuffed him. The father talked to ICE and he was released.”

As protesters marched around the hotel in the cold, a line of security blocked off the entrance and a food delivery driver struggled to get to the front door. “I come from an immigrant family, I don’t need this,” she said. 

Newcomb said the Edina noise demonstration won’t be the group’s last. 

“Our hope is that by pushing back against these hotels that we make it harder for ICE to find places to stay. We want to make it harder for ICE to sleep comfortably at night as they’re terrorizing our neighbors,” she said.

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